Pennatas People
by akiarashi0822
Summary: AU of FF7: Winged Cloud verse with TURK Tifa to boot. Follows game canon loosely because Tifa leaving her home early and Cloud's wings change many of the events in the game.
1. Children of the Mountain Town

**Children of the Mountain Town**

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: Cloud's Mother Cirra (from Cirrus) and Cloud's Father Ptilon (a minor god of the Nibel Pennatas Tribe), friendship between Cloud and Tifa

Spoilers: FF7

Notes: So frickin' AU there is little resemblance between early history in game and in story. Later will have more resemblance, but will still be pretty out there. This is partly because of the new genetic variations in the human race that this story has. The story came out of one picture of someone having wing tattoos and a whole verse was built up around that and the FF7 characters. Also seems to read better in present tense, tried pass tense but it was being difficult.

Warnings: Really strange ideas went into making this verse. I know that some of the events are not canon, but the characters insisted that this is what I was going to be writing.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the FF7 verse belongs to Squeenix.

Tifa follows quietly right behind Master Zangan. She'd been so happy when her mother had over-ridden her father last year and allowed her to learn from Master Zangan on her fifth birthday. She'd recently turned six, and for the first time he was taking up into the mountains for a practical test on her beginning herbal skills. He would ask her to identify various plants, rocks, and crystals and tell him the applications of them in the brews and tonics he had been teaching her. While she knew it was dangerous up there she completely trusted Master Zangan and **knew** to listen to him.

Cloud tails his mother down the mountain path towards Nibelheim on the way out of the mountains. They'd had another weekend practice session and his back was beginning to throb. He knew he shouldn't have landed that way, but he'd thought that after his seventh birthday and three years of practice he would at **least** have gotten landing down. The blond did not want to go back to a village that hated his mother and himself, but they really didn't have anyplace else to go. The only members of the village that were okay with them were an elderly couple, the mayor's wife and... the man that was coming up the path with the mayor's daughter behind him. All four of them stopped and the two adults began quietly speaking in a completely different language. The two children look up at their respective adult and then shyly look at each other. Cloud notices that the girl has long dark hair tied back in a loose ponytail and red brown eyes. Her clothes consisted of a red vest and skirt over a black turtleneck and pants. Her gloves were black and her boots were also the same red as her vest and skirt.

Tifa peered curiously from behind Master Zangen at the two blonds. The woman had **long** and shiny blonde hair in a braid, dark gray eyes, a nice smile and was dressed conservatively in blue jeans and a black jacket and boots. The boy, she assumed he was the woman's son, had long blond hair in a spiky ponytail. His bangs were really spiky and wild and seemed almost like a chocobo's crest. She wondered if it stayed like that when it rained. He had bright sky-blue eyes and a more serious face than the woman's. He had on blue jeans as well, brown boots, and a chocobo yellow shirt on. Around his waist was a brown jacket tied in a knot. The boy looked older than her and she didn't remember seeing him in any of her classes. Her teacher and the woman finish their conversation and the woman bows to her. "Miss Lockeheart, I am Ms. Cirra Strife, and this is my son Cloud. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Cloud bows and Tifa bows back, "Hello, I'm Tifa, this is Master Zangen. I agree, it is a pleasure to meet you." The girl says quietly.

"Do you mind if the two of us come along, Miss Tifa?" Ms. Strife asks politely.

Tifa tilts her head and looks to Cloud, who, she decided, looked mildly hopeful. "As long as Master Zangen agrees I would love to have you come with us."

The three look to the man, "Of course," he says.

Over the next few years Cloud and Tifa would go up into the mountains many times. While most of the times involved them going with the two adults, they would occasionally go off on their own and explore some of the smaller trails that were less stable for the older people that trained them. Occasionally the other children would ask Tifa why she hung out with the loser and outcast of the village and she would respond, 'He's my friend and the only other kid besides me willing to go into the mountains.' Then she would stalk off and not talk to most of the others for a while. Cloud would ask her later on those days, 'Why do you defend me? No one else has.' and she would blink and say, 'But that's what friends are for.' Then she would hug him and drag him off to practice or explore.

Her father did not like that she would go off with the Strifes or Master Zangen or Mother's parents but he also could not go against mother and she always allowed Tifa to do what she wanted. Occasionally, she would go over to Cloud's and he'd be out, but this was usually because his mother would take him off to train away from the villagers. Likewise, she was sure that Cloud had knocked at her door only to find that she had gone with Master Zangen for her practical tests of the local fauna, flora, and rocks of their mountains.

A few months before she was to turn thirteen and Cloud fourteen, a cold swept through the village. While most of the villagers had a mild case, her mother was one of the ones that was hit the hardest. For two weeks Tifa sat at her mother's bedside and read to her, but one morning her mother would not wake up and as the day passed into the evening hours the woman breathed her last breath. Almost immediately after her mother's funeral her father tried to forbid her from seeing her grandparents and friends, or to even leave the house. Quickly grabbing a sack she had packed when her mother was first getting sick for just this possibility, she snuck out through her window and got Cloud from his mother's house. The two of them headed up in a direction that none of them had ever gone, towards the old bridge that led to the defunct reactor. When they arrived at the bridge, Cloud took one look at it and said doubtfully, "Tifa... are you **sure** you want to cross this rickety old thing? It doesn't look all that safe."

"I want to see the Materia cave that is supposed to be somewhere over there. This is the only way I know how to get there." She looks at him, "Do you know another way?"

"Nnnn... Mom never took me there, said it was dangerous."

"So? We're old enough to go into the mountains alone, we should be able to go to one little materia cave, doncha think? Let's go, we're little, it should hold our weight." Tifa starts across the gap and Cloud follows closely but nervously after. Halfway across they hear a loud groan and crack and they watch in horror as the end of the bridge begins to fall.

Cloud grabs her around her waist and says, "Please don't scream, I swear we'll be okay but I need a bit more room to maneuver, alright?"

"'Kay..." she squeaks.

"Jump up... Now!" The two of them jump as their section of the bridge collapses under them. Cloud angles the two of them so that they face down. Once they clear the falling debris Tifa hears ripping and the older boy gives a pained grunt. Their descent quickly slows and turns more horizontal.

"Cloud? What's going on?"

"Er... Let's just say that I'm in trouble with mom's family now, 'kay? Can you point me to where you think the materia cave is? We may as well get that accomplished."

Tifa points to a crack in the rock far below them, "It should be over there." Cloud maneuvers them towards where she pointed slowly. Eventually, they land before the cave and the girl is released. She quickly turns around to see the blond looking sheepishly at her and beautiful blue wings that match his eyes. "They're gorgeous..." she breaths.

"Ummm... Thank-you," the boy says shyly. The wings seem to shrink and eventually disappear. His shirt is ripped up, so he takes it off and rubs it across his back... it comes back red and bloody. "How's it look?" he queries as he turns around. Tattoos of blue wings span across his shredded back.

She swallows, "There doesn't appear to be any blood but your back looks horrible. Do the tattoos store the wings?"

"Mmhmm," he nods, "Come on, let's go explore the cave, okay?" They walk in and find a mako fountain with materia that had solidified from the glowing liquid. Everything around them was glowing in a rainbow of colors. There were spheres, crystals, and what appeared to be icicles of materia all around them. Cloud goes around touching various spheres and crystals, and occasionally he would pocket one.

A few minutes pass before Tifa stops staring at the beautiful sight and looks at her companion curiously, "Watcha doin'?"

"Finding materia," he says blithely. "I've got two cures, a fire, an ice, and... an all so far."

"Youngling Strife. Get out here." A tenor voice calls out to the children from the cave entrance.

"Drat. Come on, Tifa. We're coming, she's with me!" Cloud pulls Tifa with him to the entrance of the cave. There are three people standing there, two men and a woman. The boy bows, "Elders Morgana, Elios and Ezikial, I introduce Tifa Lockeheart to you."

The woman, Morgana, with long blonde hair and gray eyes, peers at the girl. "Youngling Strife, you have not been given approval to show others. You were also not approved to release your wings today. Where is your mother and why is she not here?"

The teen scowls, "First off Morgana, she's my friend. Secondly, I wasn't planning on taking out my wings, but I'd rather have both of us relatively unharmed, than unconscious or dead. Mom's at home, she's let us come up here alone before." Bright blue eyes flash as his scowl deepens, "I don't care about the approval process, it was an emergency and those are perfectly allowed by any of the laws."

Ezikial glares right back, he had brown hair and light gray eyes and when he spoke was proven to be the one who'd called. "Soooo," he drawled condescendingly, "What was your so-called 'emeeergency'?"

Tifa responds quicker than Cloud, "We were on the bridge when it broke. We would have fallen into the ravine from the top of the cliffs, with nothing to slow our fall," she says heatedly.

Elios, the eldest of the three, with silvered hair and dark gray eyes, nods in understanding. "Stand down, Morgana, Ezikial. I am proud to have this child know our secrets. Lady Tifa, you do understand that Cloud would not have told you if he had not had to?"

"Yes, sir."

"You must realize that Cloud is not like most of our people. His eyes and wings are vibrant colors. Most of our people have those features in shades of gray, the better the person the closer to black they are. We cannot say what his ancestry is, but it is above our own. He has a bit more freedom because of this, but until he is twenty-two and a half, our people will be able to sense when he releases his wings without prior preparation. It is why we arrived so quickly to your location. We sensed Cloud's panic as he released the wings."

Tifa's eyes widen in understanding as she nods. Cloud had been glaring at Ezikial during Elios' explanation and the man sneered back at the two children. The girl notices that Morgana had started eying the younger man warily partway through the exchange. Ezikial suddenly snarls and launches himself at the blue-eyed boy who yelps and tries to leap backwards. The boy stumbles over the rocks and cobbles, and the larger man slams into the light body. The other three stare in shock and can't react for a few seconds allowing Ezikial to wrap his hands around the slim neck and begin to squeeze. Cloud's terror filled eyes look into the man's insane white irises. Morgana and Elios cry out in anger and pry their third off of the panic stricken boy, Tifa recovers right after. She kicks the crazy man in the shin and kneels down to check on her best friend. He smiles at her as he rubs his bruised throat. The woman, meanwhile is snarling right back at Ezikial, "What the fucking hell is your problem asshole?! You're a complete waste of space and I have no clue why the fuck you were allowed to tag along!" Ezikial's response wasn't intelligible and Elios shakes the younger man.

The elder mutters a few words that bind the struggling man and then informs him, "You may not leave our village ever again. We had hoped to have a balanced triumvirate for clan matters, but you are obviously too immature and rather insane." The silver haired old man bows to the children. "I apologize, I had assumed he would keep his temper in check. Thank-you for being so understanding Miss Lockeheart. Stay out of trouble, tell your mother Strife, and good luck to both of you young ones."

"S'no problem, Master Elios," Cloud rasps. "It was an honor that you and Lady Morgana were the ones to officiate." The boy winces towards the end and bows deeply to the two elders.

Tifa also bows, "It was an honor to meet both of you." She looks around, "You, uh... wouldn't happen to know a way out would you?"

"Besides flying?" the blonde haired woman asked wryly, the girl nods. "Sorry, kiddo. It was great to meet you. Keep an eye on our chocobo child, yeah?"

"Of course," the brunette smiles.

"I'm not a chocobo and can take care of myself," Cloud's scratchy voice proves otherwise to that last part.

Morgana ruffles the boy's hair, "Say hello to your mother for me too?"

Cloud nods, "Sure, Aunty. Sorry about falling."

The woman grins, "That old thing would have come down sooner or later, it's just unfortunate that it decided to go with you on it. I'll see you around, kid, and take it **easy**."

"Tell your mother if she has any questions to make a call, and drink warm liquids for the next few days to help heal the throat, youngling. Miss Lockeheart, help him out as much as possible. Also, add these herbs to two of your drinks until the throat is better, preferably one dose in the morning and one at night. Try to rest as much as possible, though I know you help your mother out and don't like to give her more work than necessary," Elios hands a bundle of herbs to the boy, who nods at each bit of advice along with Tifa.

The boy grins at the last bit, and says, "Orders of the medicine doctor?"

The old man chuckles, "Orders of the medicine doctor, brat. We will see you around, do not go looking for trouble."

Tifa mutters, "We find trouble well enough on our own obviously." Then she says louder, "Of course sir."

"Sure, it was good to see you again, and nice to meet you." Morgana and Elios wave as they settle Ezikial in between them and allow their wings to slowly come out.

"Nice meeting/seeing you, too," The two kids call out as the three fly away towards their far more isolated village.

How names of the species and people were found: Latin:

penna : feather, wing

pennatus : winged, with feathers

penniger : winged, with feathers

pennipes : wing-footed, swift, fleet

pennipotens : capable of flight

pennipotenti : birds

Petra

pteron – feather, wing

ptilon – soft feathers, down, plume

Gaia isn't quite Earth, so differences in spellings (Mostly those that have Norse legends as the base) happened, which is how they became Pennatas, instead of Pennatus. Plus, it sounded the coolest and was relatively easy to remember.


	2. Stranded, Yet Not

**Stranded, Yet Not**

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: Cloud's Mother Cirra (from Cirrus) and Cloud's Father Ptilon (a minor god of the Nibel Pennatas Tribe), friendship between Cloud and Tifa

Spoilers: FF7

Notes: So frickin' AU there is little resemblance between early history in game and in story. Later will have more resemblance, but will still be pretty out there. This is partly because of the new genetic variations in the human race that this story has. The story came out of one picture of someone having wing tattoos and a whole verse was built up around that and the FF7 characters. Also seems to read better in present tense, tried pass tense but it was being difficult.

Warnings: Really strange ideas went into making this verse. I know that some of the events are not canon, but the characters insisted that this is what I was going to be writing.

After the elders were not more than a speck in the distance, Tifa looks down into the ravine and then up towards the cliff face that would lead them home, "Damn. Hey, Cloud?"

"Hmm?"

The slightly younger girl chews thoughtfully on her lips, "...Do you think you could fly us up there? Or are we going to have to find some other way back home?"

The blond looks up, both at the sky and the cliffs, then down at the rock faces below them in the ravine. He eyes faint trails in the rocks and tries to figure out if they would hold them. He really didn't want to deal with any more elders today, and if the rocks broke under him, he would have to. Then he licks his finger and holds it up to get the wind current, and his eyes widen. "I'm not good enough to fly in winds that are blowing through such a narrow space. Plus," he narrows his eyes as he takes another look at the sky, "I think that there's a squall coming in, there." The blue eyed boy points towards the dark clouds quickly gathering in the south end of the ravine, opposite from where the elders went.

"Oh bugger," Tifa swears mildly, then her eyes gain a glint. "There were other caves back there, right?"

The boy thinks about it, "Yeeeesss, I think so."

"Do you think one might lead up to a higher point on the cliffs? And if so, could you glide us over with that higher spot?"

"Maybe, so long as we don't get lost in the caves. That would not be good, especially since we need food and water..." Then his eyes scrunch and he whacks his head, "Of course, Zangen and mom taught us how to use the local plant and animal life to survive at least a couple of days up here. So all we have to worry about are the dragons and Nibel wolves." Cloud sounds a bit brighter, once he realized it wouldn't be quite as tough as he thought. "Let's get deeper in the caves before the squall hits, it looks to be one of the worser ones."

She nods while keeping a wary eye on the sky, "I think there might be a spring deeper in the cavern that isn't tainted by the mako. You found a Fire, right? I don't remember a lesson on materia, but did your mother give you one?" She asks as they turn and walk back into the cave to mark each of the tunnels with a different symbol. Ms. Strife and Master Zangan had given them lessons on some of the other languages, including some of the Wutaiin symbols and Ancient Cetran cuneiform. If they marked each of the caves with separate symbols, they could keep track of which cave system they were in.

"Yeah, mom thought it'd be a good idea, partly because she felt I would put too much power into it. Something about her bloodline being too compatible with casting from materia and occasionally sucking in certain types if they weren't being careful. Especially the ones that boost your statuses that I've never exactly seen, but have heard of, like the HP plus ones."

Tifa blinks at her friend, "Well, that's gotta suck if you want to sell it back at a later point. And what happens when the sucked in one is mastered?"

"Ummmm..." Cloud thinks as they walk through the caves, "I don't think that was mentioned by mom. It hasn't occurred recently, but she'd heard it mentioned once or twice... That would be both cool, because of the boost in health, but sucky for getting money and maybe new materia out of it..."

The two talk and bicker through the caves for the next few days, catching and cooking some of the critters and avoiding the places where the dragons nested out of old habit. They find the cave they want the second day, but the squall at that point is in full fury and would have been suicidal to try and fly to the other ledge that they could barely see through the rain. After two more days, one of which is spent by Cloud teaching Tifa about the materia and casting, the storm clears and the winds die down. With his shirt so much scrap and had been burnt as firestarters, he could release his wings without creating more of a wardrobe deficiency.

Once the wings were fully spread and he had an idea as to the direction of the light wind, he gently grasps Tifa about the waist. He flaps his wings and glides them over to where the bridge had been anchored on the town side. After putting the blue wings away, the two continue towards town and run into a search party... One that was only looking for Tifa's body, not two live and nearly unharmed youngsters. Needless to say, the villagers were mostly pleasantly surprised, and formed an escort to lead the two back to the village as the girl tells them a heavily edited version of what had happened over the four and a half days they'd been missing.

AN: I have up to ch 4 saved on my computer along with various future bits and just have to get the muses to get from where they stopped to where they picked up again...


	3. Father Knows Best

**Father Always Wants Best for His Daughter**

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: Cloud's Mother Cirra (from Cirrus) and Cloud's Father Ptilon (a minor god of the Nibel Pennatas Tribe), friendship between Cloud and Tifa

Spoilers: FF7

Notes: So frickin' AU there is little resemblance between early history in game and in story. Later will have more resemblance, but will still be pretty out there. This is partly because of the new genetic variations in the human race that this story has. The story came out of one picture of someone having wing tattoos and a whole verse was built up around that and the FF7 characters. Also seems to read better in present tense, tried pass tense but it was being difficult.

Warnings: Really strange ideas went into making this verse. I know that some of the events are not canon, but the characters insisted that this is what I was going to be writing.

Mayor Lockeheart sneers as he watches his unharmed daughter and that Strife boy slowly walk towards his house from one of the more hidden windows. How dare that **wretched**, low class boy associate with his only daughter. Especially when he had picked out such a good husband for his wayward child. It was horrible that his wife had died of that illness, but this would give him and the man he'd chosen for his daughter a chance to correct the errors she had made in raising the girl.

First thing first, punish that boy for associating with his darling Tifa, then get started with the process of evicting **that** family from his nearly pristine village. While he was at it he'd better get his wife's parents and that fighting instructor to leave as well. Maybe entice the elder couple that they should be living somewhere... warmer than this region, especially given that their joints were slowing down... And once he managed to marry Tifa off to that elder gentleman, he could convince Zangan to take his teachings elsewhere.

"I thought that I had grounded you in your room young lady. Imagine my surprise when I went to make sure you had fallen asleep three nights ago and found your bed empty and looking as if it had not been touched. Along with the garments I had laid out for you."

"Like I would wear a heavy dress like that when jeans and t-shirts are more practical. Mom never grounded me, and yet as soon as she dies you decide to do so and forbid me from seeing my grandparents, my best friend and my teacher."

"None of which are befitting of a girl of your station. Go say goodbye to your grandparents, your suitor will be here shortly and I will be coming along to ensure your cooperation. Strife, wait here, I have things I wish to discuss with you." His daughter had given him a vicious glare and had stalked out, the boy getting ready to follow when the Mayor stopped him.

Cloud gulped as he stopped and turned back to face the man that was the most adamant about belittling him. "Yes, sir."


	4. Grandparents

**Grandparents Can Be More Understanding**

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: Cloud's Mother Cirra (from Cirrus) and Cloud's Father Ptilon (a minor god of the Nibel Pennatas Tribe), friendship between Cloud and Tifa

Spoilers: FF7

Notes: So frickin' AU there is little resemblance between early history in game and in story. Later will have more resemblance, but will still be pretty out there. This is partly because of the new genetic variations in the human race that this story has. The story came out of one picture of someone having wing tattoos and a whole verse was built up around that and the FF7 characters. Also seems to read better in present tense, tried pass tense but it was being difficult.

Warnings: Really strange ideas went into making this verse. I know that some of the events are not canon, but the characters insisted that this is what I was going to be writing.

Tifa snarls as she stalks over to her grandparents' house. How dare he **do** this! She was thirteen! Completely old enough to have **some** idea about the world and what she wanted! And she **didn't** want the sort of person her father would pick out, he'd **probably** be a bastard the way dad was praising the guy. Older too, like, too old for her anytime soon. She calms herself down before she enters their house, then calls out, "Grandmama, Grandpapa! I want to be a TURK, so that I don't have to deal with the old man. He wants to marry me off! To someone he picked out already!"

Mrs. Li'lith'an scowls at that as she hugs the girl, "No good man, wished my daughter had fallen in love with a nicer gentleman. He's had most of the village out looking for you. Except for us and Lady Strife, of course. Didn't even let us know you were missing, had to ask one of the searchers. We'll get the paperwork set up sweety."

Mr. Li'lith'an grins, "Man should've known better'n to try anything with you. You've got our stubborn and headstrong, and listened to our values rather'n his."

"Thankyou so much! I just want to scream at him sometimes! I don't want to be a prim and proper lady, I'm fine as a tomboy. And I can make medicines and heal people too, which most sensible guys around here would want."

"'Twas why we were glad that you're mother invited Zangan to the village," her grandfather said. "We knew he would teach you better'n whatever your father thought 'twas best for you."

"Now, dearest, what happened on that hike of your's that took you two so long?" The older lady queries as she sets tea, cookies, sandwiches, and other small items on the table for the three to munch on.

Tifa chews on her lip for a few seconds. "Have... have you heard of people with wings in the mountains before?" She asks hesitantly.

Both grandparents gasp at their granddaughter's question. "We'd hoped... We're..." The grandmother tries to explain.

The wrinkled man takes over, "Both sets of our parents were born without the ability to shift, they'd hoped we would marry one of the people with the ability, to bring grace back into the houses, but... We fell deeply for each other. When it became apparent that our children'd also have no wings we were given the choice to raise our child as we had been raised... Different, unable to participate in the classes they taught the gifted, and many of the children not wishing to be friends with one who could only play few games... Or in a mostly human village, where the children'd be able to play with others their age without ridicule..." Sad, dark eyes gaze into the distance.

Brighter ruby eyes look upon the girl, "We chose to give our children the chance to grow up with others that are more like them. We were freshly married when we moved here, and slowly grew to be accepted by the neighbor's before giving birth to your mother. They thought we'd come from a city, and moved to this little town to give our children a chance to be raised right, rather than surrounded by gangs and violence. We merely encouraged that view, and they were happy to accept our daughter as their children's friends."

The girl's eyes widen, "Unlike Ms. Strife, who arrived in the village, pregnant and without a husband to be seen with her. Gramma, Grampa! Her son's got the ability. When we were going over the old bridge to the materia cave the bridge broke, and Cloud brought out wings to save us. Three of the elders found us to reprimand Cloud, but one was a jerk and attacked him. The other two couldn't help us get back, because they had to get the jerk back. Then the squall came up, so Cloud couldn't glide us out. So we had to wander the caves to get a higher vantage point and wait the storm out. He glided us over and eventually we ran into one of the search groups and were led home. And were told to go to father's."

Both blink, "So that's where you learned of it... It is good the boy kept you safe. He left you at your place and went to see his mother, yes?" Grandmother queried.

Tifa gulps in shock, "Noooo... father wanted to talk to hiiimmm... crap! I'll be back!" She races out of the house at full speed as her grandparents look at each other.

"I'll go get the papers and phone Cirra," The old man mutters.

"I'd better go get more tea and the first aid kit," the old woman sighs.


	5. A Friend's Pain

Title of Verse: The Pennatas People

Title of Chapter: Chapter Five: A Friend's Pain

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: Cloud's Mother Cirra (from Cirrus) and Cloud's Father Ptilon (a minor god of the Nibel Pennatas Tribe), friendship between Cloud and Tifa

Spoilers: FF7

Notes: So frickin' AU there is little resemblance between early history in game and in story. Later will have more resemblance, but will still be pretty out there. This is partly because of the new genetic variations in the human race that this story has. The story came out of one picture of someone having wing tattoos and a whole verse was built up around that and the FF7 characters. Also seems to read better in present tense, tried pass tense but it was being difficult.

Warnings: Really strange ideas went into making this verse. I know that some of the events are not canon, but the characters insisted that this is what I was going to be writing.

Warnings 2: Also, Tifa's father hurt Cloud as well, but not all of the bruises are from him, and a couple are because the man didn't know Cloud had hollower bones than the rest of the children, and the guy's hands I see being kinda... big.

Tifa slows as she nears her house and catches sight of the blond boy limping and holding his right arm with his left hand. She couldn't see his face yet, because his bangs were hiding it, but she'd bet that it was as bruised and battered as the rest of him looked. She totally was not going back to see her father anytime in the near, or hopefully, far future. "Cloud!" The brunette calls quietly as she catches him by the arm as he stumbles.

A wide blue eye looks at her, the other too swollen already to open, "He shaysh that I shouldn'th hang outh wish'you. That you shouldth lishen ta him. I toldsh'em thatsh if he thoughtsh thatsh, he didn'th know you. Remind me notsh ta do thatsh again, kay?"

"Oh bleeding Hel, you look like shit, Cloud. Even worse'n you did after Ezikial! C'mon, let's get you to my grandparents before you faint and I have to carry you there."

He rolls his one good eye and winces, "Notsh gonna fainsh. Wanna collapsh, but notsh fainsh." He did look like hell, not only was the one eye swollen shut, but that side of the face looked like it was bruising. He had a split lip, which was creating the slight lisp, and these only helped accentuate the bruises that had been left on his neck by Ezikial. His right arm was likely broken or the shoulder disconnected given how it was hanging. Under his shirt were likely to be bruises given how thorough the beating seemed to be. His left ankle was probably sprained from how he was leaning into her when he had to use that leg, and there might be more bruises under the pants too, but she couldn't see through clothes, no matter how much she wanted to at that moment.

"I don't blame you for wanting to collapse. I also want to go back and beat my father black and blue to see how **he** likes it, but if I did that he'd lock me up and get that guy to 'train' the stubbornness out. Sorry I can't beat him up for you," she mutters earnestly.

"Sh'okay, dun blame ya. Wouldn'tsh wantsh ya ta go near 'em either."

"Please stop trying to talk, Cloud, that split lip's gotta be hurting when you speak. We'll be there soon, then we can get ice and see if anything is broken."

He snorts at that and looks up to see where they were going. It wasn't his mom's but was one of the buildings on the edge of town. Which likely meant that they weren't quite accepted by everyone else either. _Few more meters, then I can collapse. Just a little more, _he urges his body. _Not gonna make Tifa carry me. _When they get to the porch, he makes a querying sound.

"My grandparents. They'll help and your mom can meet us here," She smiles at him, then rings the bell. As the door opens the blond's eyes close and he falls unconscious. "Cloud! Ah... fu... dangit!"

"Tifa, language," Her grandfather scolds

"I didn't say it," She yelps

":sigh: Fine. This the boy who helped you?" the girl nods. "Alright, let's get him inside." The older man lifts the slight boy into his arms and carries him into the house.


	6. Family Revelations

Title of Verse: The Pennatas People

Title of Chapter: Chapter Six: Family Revelations

Author: Aki Arashi

Pairings: Cloud's Mother Cirra (from Cirrus) and Cloud's Father Ptilon (a minor god of the Nibel Pennatas Tribe), friendship between Cloud and Tifa

Spoilers: FF7

Notes: So frickin' AU there is little resemblance between early history in game and in story. Later will have more resemblance, but will still be pretty out there. This is partly because of the new genetic variations in the human race that this story has. The story came out of one picture of someone having wing tattoos and a whole verse was built up around that and the FF7 characters. Also seems to read better in present tense, tried pass tense but it was being difficult.

Warnings: Really strange ideas went into making this verse. I know that some of the events are not canon, but the characters insisted that this is what I was going to be writing.

Warnings 2: Also, Tifa's father hurt Cloud as well, but not all of the bruises are from him, and a couple are because the man didn't know Cloud had hollower bones than the rest of the children, and the guy's hands I see being kinda... big.

As Tifa shuts the door behind them, her grandfather gently maneuvers himself and the injured teen over to the couch.

"Oh dear, I'm glad I restocked the kit. Cirra?" The older woman's eyes widen as she clutches the box of bandages.

"Yes, honored one?"

Grandmother Li'lithan raises an eyebrow, "Tifa, get me a bowl of hot water..." She waits until the girl is in the kitchen, "Treasure of a God, I am below you in status. Call me Nihara, if anything."

The blonde nods, red-faced, "How did you?..."

"Outcast from your home, yet both you and your child can call wings like birds... What else would you be? We have no stones to cast against another the clan found displeasure in," she bows to Cloud's mother. "Help me poultice and bandage his wounds?"

"Of course, Nihara. And Cirra is preferable to that title, though it is accurate."

"My husband is Falcon... Ah, grand-daughter, put the bowl on the tea table. What are these marks on his neck? I doubt your father is stupid enough to try to kill the boy."

The dark haired girl bites her lip as she looks at her elder and her best friend's mother, then takes a deep breath. "One of the Elders that came to confront Cloud over the 'release of the wings' must not have liked him much. He attacked him out of the blue and was able to start choking him before the rest of us could pull the guy off and bind him."

Cirra rolls her eyes, "'Zeke you moron."

"You know him?" Tifa yelps.

":Sigh: Yes, he's about my age and was one of the few that's closest to white without being insane in the village... Obviously my assumption was wrong... I grew up with him, if you were wondering. And now I must have a chat with him, attacking my son was a bad idea."

"Your sister says hello and Elder Elios was the other elder to greet us."

The blue-eyed woman puts her head in her hands, "Grandfather..." she moans.

"EEH?!" Both grandparents yelp.

Tifa looks between her relatives and the blonde, "Is he famous?" she asks tentatively.

Her grandfather shrugs, "He's distantly related ta most'a the clan in the mountains, and has children that span multiple generations. Cirra must be from one'a the newest. Also, he's the most renowned dark winged one amongst all the clan centers."

"If you go to other villages or towns and mention his name, any pennatas will likely be awed by the fact you know him, let alone are friends with someone related to him," Her grandmother adds.

"Heck Nihara, she's related ta him too, just as a supremely great granddaughter, rather'n just a grandson," Falcon states calmly.

"Does Cloud know he's related to Elder Elios?" The girl asks curiously.

Cirra smiles gently, "Yes, grandfather and my sister came to see how well his training was proceeding a couple of times. Grandfather asked him not to mention his relation to others because Cloud didn't need celebrity status at this age. And among our people, awesomely ancient, consistently black winged people are hard to find, if only as you age your opinions and views change. Grandfather has consistently trained fledgling magic users in their abilities when they've been close to his. He has contacts in almost all of the villages due to his youth spent roaming the world. While most of the council has changed over the centuries, he's been the one constant of our clan's council. For all of his life, without exception, he has remained black winged, or very near to. Which is very hard to do. Any deviation from being helpful lightens your color slowly, while wanting to or having actually hurt people for little to no reason lightens your wings even faster."

Tifa's eyes spark, "So **that's** why Ezikial's eyes turned white as he leapt at Cloud. I'd wondered about that. Why do they need violent people on the council board as well as helpful and neutral people?" the girl asks, a little miffed that some**one**, who obviously had very violent inclinations, was allowed out of a village.

Nihara, Falcon and Cirra share a look, then the elderly male responds, "Not all pale eyed and winged people are violent, some are merely... extremely adverse ta helping anyone else out. When yer clan's survival relies on the cooperation of all of the members, being able to identify those only concerned wit' themselves was apparently vital ta our evolution. That it also helped identify hurtful individuals was merely an added benefit."

"Plus, the shades can shift, as you saw with Ezikial. You can have a moment of being selfish, but are also aware that it is obvious to those around you. This helps police behaviors that are overlooked in other societies," Nihara added quietly. "This is one of the other reasons why non-winged offspring are kept to the outskirts. We don't change shade or color with how helpful or unhelpful we are. The clan has had bad experiences in the past with those that were 'unblessed'. Falcon and I were from stable families, but if families that tended to be of lighter tones had non-winged children... They were treated more fearfully."

All four are silent as they think about that. Then they all startle as Cloud groans and shifts under Cirra's and Nihara's hands.


End file.
